There are several significant events which preceded China’s constitutional amendment of March 2018 that removed the presidential term limit boosting Xi Jinping’s standing as China’s prospective leader-for-life. Born to a revolutionary leader, Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping spent most of his life serving the government, gradually working his way up the hierarchy. His precedence in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and authority over all political institutions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have arguably placed him at par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Since taking over power in 2012, the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s key initiative has been to make the Communist Party of China (CPC) relevant in the function of China’s political system. However, when Xi Jinping argues for a ‘unified and absolute leadership of the Party, it has become co-terminous with his absolute control of the Party. What does this centralisation of power signify? Given this context, it is imperative to question under whose control is the Chinese Army. That is, does CPC as an organisation hold absolute command over the PLA or it is Xi Jinping who controls it?